Business Procedures

Description

IABS is one of the systems CenturyLink™ uses to bill various products and services which are not billable via Customer Records and Information System (CRIS) or Billing and Receivable Tracking (BART) or any other CenturyLink billing system.

Availability

CenturyLink products/services are offered in CenturyLink QC.
To determine which products/services are available in which states, consult the Product Catalog (PCAT) for information.

Pricing

Rates

Wholesale rates for this product or service, including tariff references and any applicable discounts, are provided in your current Interconnection, Resale, Commercial, or other governing agreement.

Cost Dockets are state-mandated rates, determined by each state
Public Utilities Commission (PUC) or state regulatory agencies. You will be notified of Cost Docket rate changes when the rates in a specific Interconnection
Agreement are updated. You can request a copy of the updated Interconnection
Agreement from your CenturyLink Service Manager. You will be notified
by a second notification at least 15 days prior to the implementation
of the new rates in the CenturyLink billing system.

Pre-Ordering

Pre-Ordering procedures are explained in the PCATS for the product or service you are ordering from CenturyLink.

Ordering

Ordering procedures are explained in the PCATS for the product or service you are ordering from CenturyLink.

Billing Format

Your IABS bill and/or Customer Service Record (CSR) can be received in the following formats:

Paper

On-line Billing Service (OBS)/Terminal Access Interexchange
Inquiry (TAXI) (Paper Image) via Dial-Up Modem. (This is
view only; you will not receive anything with this format.)
To sign up for TAXI, contact your Service Manager.

Internet (Web) – Bill/CSR data files are available for you to download via the CenturyLink Protected Internet Delivery (CPID). You do not have the ability to view the bill files with the web media option. (The files are available for download only). Abbreviated Paper Bill (you can specify which sections of the paper bill you would like to receive, in lieu of the entire bill).

Abbreviated Paper Bill (you can specify which sections
of the paper bill you would like to receive, in lieu of
the entire bill).

Network Data Mover (NDM) in BDT format.

The IABS BDT format is created in Billing Output Specifications
(BOS) Industry Guideline format. If for any reason IABS needs to
deviate from this standard on the BDT, the deviations are documented
on a Differences List. If you have selected the BDT format, refer
to CenturyLink's BDT Differences
List. In order to receive notification of changes affecting
the Bill Data Tape (BDT) (i.e. yearly version updates) customers
must subscribe to either the Systems or the CABS/BOS option thru
the Notification
Subscription tool on the Wholesale website.

CABS BOS is a Telecom Industry Guideline format, which is copyrighted
and maintained by Telcordia. It is comprised of the following volumes:

For Resale - Frame Relay Service, three billing options are available
to you:

Regular IABS Private Line which is non BOS Standard - Available
in paper

IABS Summary Bill, which is non BOS Standard - Available in
paper

Regular retail formatted bill option - Available in paper

The product you purchase may limit the billing options. Refer to
the specific product for more information.

Billing

Overview of IABS Billing

When you submit a service request, CenturyLink generates one or more service
orders, depending on the requested activity and/or service.

Upon completion of the service order(s) CenturyLink performs the following
activities:

Updates your account in the databases to ensure that all information
is current

Updates the CenturyLink CSR when the account
is processed for billing

Rates each item on the order(s), based on tariff information
and/or data from your Interconnection Agreement. Information is
available in the state specific Tariffs/Catalogs/Price
Lists.

IABS account bill dates are determined at the time the account
is established. IABS generates appropriate recurring and non-recurring
charges, per service order, for display on your monthly IABS bill.

Completed service orders are used to update your CenturyLink CSR. The
CenturyLink CSR provides an inventory of elements that have a monthly
recurring charge associated with them. IABS also receives usage
data, which is used to generate Minutes of Use (MOU) charges, when
this type of product has been established via a service order.

Each IABS bill is composed of various sections as follows:

Bill Common Header

Bill Identification Title

Balance Due

Detail of Current Charges

Detail of Payments

Detail of Other Charges and Credits (if applicable)

Detail of Adjustments (if applicable)

Detail of Usage Charges (if applicable)

Summary Totals section (if applicable)

Detail of Taxes

Bill phrases provide information for credits and/or charges that
appear in either the "Detail of Other Charges and Credits"
or "Detail of Adjustments Applied" sections of the bills.
If you receive your bill in BDT format, a BOS bill phrase code will
be provided. Refer to Telcordia
BOS documentation, Volume 1A (SR 1869) for a list of standard
bill phrase codes with the associated English text.

Billing Account Number (BAN) Assignment

BAN assignment is as follows:

Numbering Plan Area (NPA) - e.g., 303 (in Colorado)

Numeric Numbering Plan (NXX) - e.g., L08

Line Range - assigned based on available numbers within the
range - e.g., 1234

Customer Code which is the last three digits of the line
number - e.g., 234

This example of the BAN number would be 303-L08-1234-234 and would
bill for the LIS Facility product.

The following table displays a list of all the BAN structures:

If the Product being billed
is:

Then your BAN is:

Resale - Frame Relay Service - Non-Carrier Meet
Point Billing

D07 0000-9999

Resale - Frame Relay Service - Non-Carrier Non
Meet Point Billing

D08 0000-9999

Resale Frame Relay Service - IABS Summary Bills

Note: The BAN format for the IABS Summary Bill always
starts with SUM I and then is free flow for the next nine
characters (often an abbreviation of the customer's name is
used).

SUM IXXXXXXXXX

CCSAC/SS7 - Finished - Interconnect Port - Local Service

L01 0000-6999

L01 8000-9999

LIS Usage/Trunking

L04 0000-9999

LIS Facility

L08 0000-5999

L08 7000-8699

L08 9000-9999

UDIT

L08 6000-6999

L08 8700-8999

UDF

L09 0000-6999
L09 8000-9999

Collocation - General Information - Recurring

R59 0000-6999

R59 8000-9999

Access to Emergency Services (911/E911) for Facility
Based CLECs

NOTE: E911 charges will appear on the CLEC's regular Access
Private Line BAN. These charges do not have a specific assigned
BAN range.

R40 0000-9999

R62 0000-9999

R72 0000-9999

R08 0000-6999 & 8000-9999

R81 0001-6999 & 9000-9999

The following table describes some commonly found types of charges
that may appear on your IABS bill. (NOTE: You should refer to either your Interconnection Agreement or the tariff for applicable
rates and calculations.)

Charge

Basic Description

Additional Labor Charges

Charges assessed when CenturyLink technicians are required
to work overtime or outside normal working hours.

Cancellation Charges

The charge applied when a requested service is
cancelled the ordering process.

Customer Transfer Charges (CTC)

CTC's are charges that apply in the following
situations:

Converting a CenturyLink account to a CLEC Account.

Changing an end-user from one CLEC to another CLEC.

Expedite Charges

The charge applied when a CLEC requests services
in less than a standard time frame.

Fractionals

When service does not span an entire Bill Period (e.g.
new connect or disconnect), the recurring charge is prorated
to bill or credit from the date the service was installed
or disconnected.

The prorating is calculated based on a 30 day Bill Period.

Calculation: Recurring Rate divided by 30 equals Daily
Rate; Daily Rate times Number of Days in Service.

Interest Credits

A credit assessed on money received in error
or a deposit.

Late Payment Charges

A charge assessed when payment for a bill is
not received in a specified time frame.

Minimum Billing Period

The minimum period for which services are billed and for
which rates and charges are applicable.

When a service is discontinued prior to the expiration
of the minimum period, charges are applicable, whether the
service is used or not.

Minimum Billing Periods may not apply to all types of
products.

Non Recurring

A charge that applies for work activity (e.g.,
an installation charge).

Out of Service Credits/ Adjustments

Credits assessed when a circuit or service is
not working, depending on the type of service.

Recurring

Flat rated monthly charges that apply to each Bill Period.

Rates are either contracted or tariffed. For billing purposes,
each Bill Period is based on 30 days.

Taxes & Surcharges

Charges assessed or approved by a governing body
on services or products provided.

CenturyLink has a process for validation of rates. When CenturyLink determines
a billed rate correction is necessary, you will be notified by your
CenturyLink Billing SDC at least 10-days
prior to the correction being made. The 10-day window will begin
when the CenturyLink Billing SDC sends a detailed Rate Change Notification
form to you. The Rate Change Notification form will include information
explaining the old and new rates, effective date of the correction,
etc.

There are two different Rate Correction Notifications Forms that
may be received depending on the product/service that is being corrected.
The forms are as follows:

There may be times when you wish to have a copy of a bill resent
to you. To do this, you should contact your CenturyLink Billing SDC.

Resend of a paper bill will normally take between 2-10 days,
depending on the type of product being billed.

Resend of alternate IABS bill media will take between 2-4 business
days.

If you have not received the resent bill within the designated
time, you should contact your CenturyLink Billing SDC.

A resend request made for the formats of NDM can only be accommodated for the current bill cycle. The
request must be received by the CenturyLink Billing SDC prior to the date
for the next month's bill. Any request made for a previous month�s
bill, subsequent to the current month, will be sent on paper, regardless
of the original media type.

Training

Local CenturyLink 101 "Doing Business With CenturyLink"

This introductory web-based training course is designed to teach the Local CLEC and Local Reseller how to do business with CenturyLink. It will provide a general overview of products and services, CenturyLink billing and support systems, processes for submitting service requests, reports, and web resource access information. Click here to learn more about this course and to register.

If you have questions, you should call the telephone number provided on the Face Page of your IABS bill or your Billing SDC. You can also contact your assigned CenturyLink Service Manager for assistance.

Contacts

If you have questions, you should call the telephone number provided on the Face Page of your IABS bill or your Billing SDC. You can also contact your assigned CenturyLink Service Manager for assistance.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1. Can a dispute be issued verbally?
No, all billing disputes must be submitted in writing.

Last Update: August 18, 2014

End Office Common Language® is a Registered Trademark of Telcordia Technologies, Inc.
CLLI™ is a Trademark of Telcordia Technologies, Inc.
IABS® is a Trademark of CenturyLink™